Olympics Opening Ceremony

At 21.00 on 27th July 2012, in London, the Olympic Games will officially begin with the opening ceremony. Always spectacular in their own way, and always anticipated with interest, these opening ceremonies have become a big thing, sometimes organised and performed with military-like precision (Beijing) and always timed to perfection both on and off stage. Likewise, the closing ceremonies, where there is the opportunity for the next host nation to offer a taster of their country. Four years ago, in China, Britain gave a taster to the world, with a red London bus and David Beckham kicking footballs into the crowd. So what is in store for the 2012 opening ceremony, and how does this relate to the chart for the event?

The model of the stadium and the proposed scene, "Isles of Wonder", was released in June, and it reflects the green countryside with farms, fields, grazing sheep and cattle and a game of cricket in progress. At one end is a green hill representing Glastonbury Tor and the famous pop festival in the fields below. At the other end is supposedly the floor of the Royal Albert Hall, home to the Promenade Concerts, filled with people standing (promenading) whilst listening to the music. I gather that during the ceremony, the scene will be changed by tech wizardry to show industrial Britain and to represent the Industrial Revolution. Now take a look at the chart for the opening ceremony.

I was struck by the similarities between the layout of the model and the layout of the chart, with its focal point at the top - Pluto close to the MC, this reflecting Glastonbury Tor in the model. Down in the lower hemisphere, around the IC area, are the "promenaders" - Jupiter, Venus and Sun conjunct Mercury. There are many criss-crossing aspects, suggesting the boundaries of the fields and different areas within the scene.

Fantasy aside, what does the chart offer in terms of the event? Like the model, the aspect structure takes up a large area of the chart, filling each of the four quadrants with planets to a greater or lesser degree. This is a very blue/green chart. 4 red: 5 green: 6 blue aspects, suggesting a lot of imagination, which certainly ties in with the amount of creativity that has gone into the planning of this ceremony by film director Danny Boyle. This is reinforced by Sun/Mercury in Leo in 5th  - a great placement for a showbiz-style event. 

Embedded within the aspect structure are several aspect patterns - a Search Figure, a Dominant Learning triangle, and a Model. Yes, an aspect pattern which is called the "Model"! This is because it is concerned with high aspirations and will not be distracted by pessimism. What better figure to feature in the opening ceremony chart? The Hubers say that the presence of a Model in a chart can bring "centred persistence which can give courage and hope to other people". If that had come straight out of an Olypmpic publicity leaflet it couldn't have been more appropriate! 

To find out more about aspect patterns see  Aspect Pattern Astrology by Bruno and Louise Huber, and my book Aspect Patterns in Colour. Both are available from the APA Bookshop, American Federation of Astrologers, Amazon and other distributors. Click on the Books tabs for more details.

A final comment on the chart. Pluto is on the MC in the highest position and it appears to dominate this chart. Pluto looks powerful up there, as if presiding over the entire event. Pluto at a lower level can be about manipulation, power and control. At its highest level, however, it's about achieving perfection and leaving behind the baggage which stops us from reaching this state. Pluto is about aspiring to be the "perfect being" which makes it a fitting planet to be at the top of this chart. In the spirit of the original Olympic Games let's hope that this will be so and that only the higher manifestations of this planet will be present.